STORM-SWEPT VICTORIA

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18590, 28 December 1934, Page 11

STORM-SWEPT VICTORIA

HAVOC IN MELBOURNE

SHIPPING IN TROUBLE

EXTRA ORDINARY SC ENES

MELBOURNE, Dec. 1. Terrific gales swept the south-eastern part of the continent during Thursday night and yesterday. Havoc has been caused in Victoria, where the full force of the storm has been concentrated, and the southern areas of Now South Wales have also suffered severely. In the city and suburbs of Melbourne considerable damage has been done by the wind. In the lower-lying suburbs streets were flooded and houses swamped. Residents in the Kensington area, who were compelled to leave their homes in the last floods a few weeks ago, have been warned by the police that they may have to leave again to-night. The canal at Elwood has flooded, and the sea has rushed up the canal a quarter of a mile inland, and encroached on roads, flooding many houses, and bringing with it debris and seaweed. On the shores of the bay piers and jetties have been battered by heavy seas. Pleasure craft have been torn from their moorings and wrecked, and bathing boxes, and other flimsy foreshore, structures, have been torn, from their founda-

tions. When the Elwood Canal overflowed, extraordinary scenes were witnessed. Waves broke over the Parade, throwing clouds of spray 301 t. into the air. Streets were covered by more than three feet of water, and scores of housed flooded. Motor traffic was impossible, and many residents had difficulty in getting to work.

The St. Kilda road was covered with branches which the wind had torn from the. elms, beeches and maple trees. A number of those trees were uprooted by the. gales, and some of them disorganised train traffic. Even in Collins street, broken branches were scattered on the roadway.

At Brighton the beach paths were partly carried away, the, front of the middle Brighton baths was damaged, and the staging of the middle Brighton pier was smashed. Fishing boats at Brighton sank at their moorings. A tall pine tree overturned by the wind fell across the roof of the home of Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, doing considerable damage. No one was injured. St. Kilda pier has been partially wrecked. Great holes have been tom in the wooden framework by the heavy seas. If the storm continues, it is feared that the middle section of the pier may break up completely, At west St. Kilda a small vacht’ lias been broken almost to pieces against the sea wall. Further down the bay, at Black Rock and Ricketts Point, there have been dangerous cliff slides, and nearly the entire front wall of a terrace of three shops collapsed in the wind, and bricks and debris were scattered across the roadway. Although several people were near the terrace at the time of the collapse, no one was injured.

SHIPPING DISORGANISED

Port officials declared to-day that they had never seen conditions worse inside Port Phillip Bay. The south-westerly gale and the sheets of driving rain have made visibility Extremely poor. Vessels are hove-to both inside and outside the heads. The Jervis Bay, with about 300 passengers on board, came through Port Phillip Heads at midnight. She reached Hobson’s Bay, and anchored for the night. At dawn the gale had increased so much that the Jervis Bay will probably not berth before to-morrow ingThe Clan Farquhar, bound for London, encountered heavy seas in the Rip, and while the vessel was being tossed about one of the crew broke a leg. The master of the Clan Farquhar, Captain Robertson, put in to the sheltered waters off Queenscliffe, and there the injured man was put ashore, while the steamer is shelteringi until conditions permit her t.o put out to sea. The Swedish motor-ship Tisnaren this morning commenced to drag her anchors. Captain Lowe, of tho river pilot service, boarded the Tisnaren, after considerable difficulty, and moved her to a safer anchorage in deep- water.

TRIONA ASHORE

The Triona, owned by the British Phosphate Commissioners, battled for more than 10 hours with huge seas and violent squalls, and tc-night she was practically ashore at South Alelbourne. During the day the Triona, which had been taken to- a bay anchoi'agc from Geelong, was constantly in danger. On several occasions her two anchors dragged, and the vessel drifted toward the eastenj side of the bay. In the violent storm it was almost impossible for tugs to- be dispatched to her assistance, and for hours bayside residents watched the vessel as she battled with one of the fiercest gales wliich have ever struck the bay. It was obvious, as tlio afternoon wore on, that the Triona was losing

the fight. She was driven slowly back towards shoal water with her two anchor cables stretching tautly from the bows. In lulls between the storm she gained ground temporarily, but her gains were infrequent, ancl slowly the storm drove lier towards the surf which pounded on the beach.

By nightfall the gale had increased in velocity. The master, Captain A. Rhodes, had his engines running at full pressure in an effort to keep the Triona head to wind, and riding to its anchors. The gale, however, was too strong and the ship again and again fell back, broadside to the tossing seas.

At 8 p.m. Captain Rhodes sent an urgent wireless.message to Williamstown for three tugs. A heavy surf was hammering at the vessel. She was almost bows on to the surf.

Shortly after 9 o’clck three tugs attempted to leave the sheltered waters of Williamstown but they wore unable to steam through the. gale to the stranded vessel, which was driven -ashore. EXTENSIVE FLOODS

The. whole of Victoria, except the Wimmera and Malice districts, suffered from tiie storm. Serious floods occurred in many parts of the State. At 9 n.m. to-day, Alexandra, in tba north-central district, with 352 points, had the State’s highest fall for the _ 24 hours. In the same period 305 points had fallen in the city. Afahy other centres in the north-central area had registrations of more than three inches. Around Melbourne some main roads are impassable, and portitm of the Sassafras road has been washed away, and boulders are strewn across the roadway. Railway transport was seriously affected.

MAN AND WIFE MAROONED

At Diamond Creek a man and his wife were marooned in their house, with flood water skirling through the windows within a foot of the lintel. Mr. and Airs. William Frizell, whose home is close to Diamond Creek, North ERham, were

warned this morning that fiends were coining, but they refused to Jeave their home. By 2 p.m. water was entering the house through the window.

The police! brought a boat from Heidelberg, but it was impossible to launch it from the road. It was placed on the guard’s van of a train to be taken to a point from which there was a better opportunity of launching it. The end of the boat projected from the van and, when the train, was rounding a curve, it struck a stancheon, winch smashed the boat.

Efforts are still being made to rescue Mr. and Mrs, Frizell, Who, the police believe, are in a very serious position.

MOTORIST’S PLTGIIT

A foreigner who was travelling from Melbourne by ear attempted to pass through Diamond Creek, llis car stalled in the water and the owner of two horses, whose assistance was sought, refused to risk his horses. The man walked back to bis car, tied it to a tele-' graph pole, and sat oh the hood until the car was washed away by the rising waters. He climbed the telegraph pole and tried to work his way along the wires. Becoming exhausted, he dropped into the water, and was swept, along by the creek toward a lagoon. Several men formed a living chain and caught the man when he was in an exhausted condition.